Surrounded
by the justices of the Louisiana Supreme Court, the judges
of the Court of Appeal-Fourth Circuit and members of the Louisiana
Supreme Court Historical Society, Chief Justice Pascal F.
Calogero, Jr. honored Governor Mike Foster today in a ceremony
commemorating the Governor's contribution and marking the
completion of the major final renovation of the Royal Street
Courthouse by Brice Building Company, Inc.

"We are not here to dedicate this building,
but rather for a more limited, special reason. The final construction
contract has been completed by the Brice Building Company.
We hold this function in part to commemorate that milestone.
But even more importantly, we hold this function to express
our thanks and appreciation to Governor Mike Foster, without
whom our future move to the newly renovated Supreme Court
building would not have been possible," said Chief Justice
Pascal Calogero, Jr.

The Beaux Arts-style
building was originally built in 1910 for the Louisiana Supreme
Court and the Orleans Civil District Court. The building has
now been restored for multi-purpose use to house the Louisiana
Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal- Fourth Circuit, the State
Judicial Administrator's Office, the Law Library of Louisiana,
an Attorney General's Office and, in time, a legal museum.
Occupancy is expected in the spring of 2004.

As part of the ceremony,
which was emceed by U.S. District Court Judge Eldon Fallon,
Calogero presented to the Governor a doorknob salvaged from
the original courthouse building as a commemorative award
for his longstanding belief that the courthouse restoration
was "the right thing to do."

According to Calogero,
"The overarching reason for this new courthouse is the State's
respect for a constitutional co-equal branch of government
and the significance of the work of the Supreme Court Justices
and the Court of Appeal judges who will toil within its walls.
No less a justification is the pride in the physical structure
and corresponding accommodations for our Louisiana citizens
and the lawyers who represent them in court proceedings which
rise to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court levels of the
state's judiciary."

After the ceremonial program, the
newly restored courthouse was opened to attendees for self-guided
tours.